BASE: Penn State Rallies Late, But Falls Short Against Binghamton

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ---- The Sunday doubleheader against Ohio State saw Penn State succumb to a late rally. The Nittany Lions did have a rally in their game against Binghamton, but ultimately fell short, losing 6-3.

The seventh inning was where the Nittany Lions made their mark as they scored all three runs in that inning. The bases were loaded on multiple occasions during the inning, but the Nittany Lions were only able to score two runs in those situations.

The inning started off with a single by Jordan Bowersox, who extended his on-base streak to 11 during the game. Sloniger also singled in the inning, putting two runners on for Christian Helsel.

Helsel hit a single down the third base line, which scored Bowersox and advanced Sloniger on. Malinsky got hit during the next at bat, giving freshman Logan Goodnight an opportunity to create a lot of damage.

He got hit by a pitch and Austin Riggins walked to put two runs across with the bases loaded. Senior Nick Riotto had an opportunity to tie the game for Penn State, but he grounded out to end the inning and the scoring threat.

Penn State head coach Rob Cooper talked about how proud he was for his team to fight in the seventh.

“I’m proud of the guys for fighting,” Cooper said. “I’m proud of the guys for competing. You know, but also the thing is that is what we should be doing.”

The bats for Penn State were a problem again as they only managed to get four hits on the Binghamton pitching staff. They did not even record a hit until the fifth inning when freshman Brett Davis hit a single up the middle.

Part of the reason Penn State struggled to score runs was the dominance of Binghamton pitcher Jake Miller, who commanded the strike zone when he was in the game. In his five innings of work, Miller only allowed one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.

Miller was not the only pitcher in the game that was in command as Penn State pitcher Eric Mock had a good outing in relief. The red-shirt freshman pitched three innings and only gave up one run and three hits.

His appearance in this game comes after a rough outing in the opening game of the doubleheader as he gave up four runs in the ninth, having to get pulled after only recording two outs. Mock talked about how relieved he was to put his performance the day before behind him.

“I learned a lot from my last two outings,” Mock said. “In the end, I think that’s going to make me a better pitcher.

Binghamton had no problems putting runs on the board as junior shortstop Paul Rufo had a memorable game, finishing 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He was a home run short of the cycle and was able to hit the ball to all parts of the ballpark.

The three run performance by Penn State makes it the third game in a row they have failed to score four or more runs. The loss extends Penn State’s losing streak to three games and drops the record to 11-20 on the season.

The Nittany Lions look to get back on track on Tuesday at 6:30 when Bucknell comes into town, a team they beat 4-3 in 10 innings earlier this season.

Joe Esquivel-Murphy is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email jje5139@psu.edu.